BY: ABQ RAW staff
POSTED: 09/02/2023 @7:30PM
Amateur barber and accused murderer, Marcos Rodriguez, 24, of Albuquerque.
On September 1st, 2023, Albuquerque Police Department officers in the Foothills area command were dispatched to a shots fired call at the Copper Terrace Apartments located 12801 Copper Ave., N.E. When they arrived they found a male subject dead from gunshot wounds and they found three bullet casings next to the victim.
According to a criminal complaint, family and friends of the two men told detectives that Marcos Rodriguez, 24 and Vincente Arviso, 24, had been friends since childhood. Rodriguez was attending barber school and gave Arviso a haircut early Friday.
Both men and their families were socializing and drinking Friday at Rodriguez’s mother’s apartment, located at 12801 Copper Ave., N.E. The gathering later moved to Rodriguez’s apartment, located in the same complex. Shortly after that, Rodriguez and Arviso started arguing. The girlfriends of both men gave different stories about who instigated the confrontation, but both said Rodriguez eventually produced a handgun and shot Arviso, killing him. Arviso was not armed.
During a brief interview with detectives, Rodriguez said he feared for his life and the lives of his families. His girlfriend told detectives that Arviso was getting physical with both women and approached Rodriguez with his fists clenched in a ball. She claimed Rodrgiuez shot Arviso on self-defense. Rodriguez also told officers who first responded to the scene, “I did it,” “he made me do it,” and “I did not have a choice.”
Arviso’s girlfriend said that just prior to Rodriguez fired his gun, he told Arviso, “I’ll shoot you, bitch, and I’ll get away with it. It will be self-defense.”
Officers detained Rodriguez at the scene while detectives conducted their investigation through the night and today. Detectives worked with the District Attorney’s Office and obtained an arrest warrant for Rodriguez, charging him with an open count of murder and tampering with evidence. It is also unclear if the haircut quality was the start of the fight as it was not mentioned in the criminal complaint.
Rodriguez was booked into the Metro Detention Center on first degree murder and tampering with evidence. This was Albuquerque’s 104th murder. We looked up on the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Division and Rodriguez was not a licensed barber with the state of New Mexico.